Michael Silhavy has worked in parish, cathedral, diocesan and university settings. After working at GIA Publications from 1985-1990 as an editorial assistant, he returned to GIA in 2013 and now serves as senior editor-at-large. His position centers around the review and acceptance of new music, the creation and content of new publications, and developing and strengthening GIA’s relationship with composers and organizations.

For twenty years he was actively engaged in the rich liturgical and musical tradition of the dioceses of Minnesota. He served as director of music for the cathedral and diocese of Duluth, MN for three years, and then became associate director of the worship center of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. In that capacity he served as a musical and liturgical resource for parishes, pastors, musicians and liturgists. He also directed the diocesan choir and was co-director of the archdiocesan pilgrimage choir.

In 1999 he began work with the noted composer Richard Proulx, creating an annotated bibliography of all Proulx’s works; this eleven year project resulted in the establishment of the Richard Proulx Collection, housed at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, MN. Having been associated with the university as a student, conference coordinator, and instructor in the School of Theology, Michael is grateful for the role Saint John’ s University has played in his formation.

Michael received his degrees at De Paul University (music education), Loyola University (theology) and Saint John’s University (liturgical studies). Currently, he serves as music director at St. Mary Church in Riverside, IL. He believes that his weekly experience of making music with a choir and congregation is essential to his work at GIA.